Outcomes of patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and hyperleukocytosis.
Authors: Fadi Haddad, Koji Sasaki, Tareq Abuasab, Sangeetha Venugopal, Daniel Rivera, Alexandre Bazinet, Rodrick Babakhanlou, Kunhwa Kim, Jayastu Senapati, Faustine Ong, Sai Prasad Desikan, Nicholas James Short, Naveen Pemmaraju, Gautam Borthakur, Courtney Denton Dinardo, Naval Guastad Daver, Elias Jabbour, Guillermo Garcia-Manero, Farhad Ravandi, Tapan M. Kadia
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (2022)

e19029 Background: Hyperleukocytosis in AML is associated with inferior outcomes. Analyzing the factors associated with mortality in AML patients (pts) with a white blood cell count (WBC) ≥100 x 10 9 /L can guide management and improve early mortality. Methods: We reviewed data from 129 pts with newly diagnosed AML presenting at our institution with WBC ≥100. Logistic regression models estimated odds ratios (OR) for 4-week mortality and Cox proportional hazard models estimated hazard ratios (HR) for overall survival (OS). Results: Median age was 65 years (range 23-86). 66% of pts had ECOG performance status (PS) &lt;2. Median WBC was 146 (range 100-687) and 78 pts had clinical leukostasis (CL) including renal failure in 31 pts (24%), new onset hypoxia in 29 pts (23%), headache in 19 pts (15%), chest pain in 9 pts (7%) and neurological symptoms in 3 pts (2%). 29 pts (22%) had poor cytogenetics. FLT3 and RAS pathway mutations were found in 63% and 27% of pts, respectively. Compared with pts without evidence of CL, pts with CL were less likely to have good PS (ECOG PS &lt;2, 58% vs 82%; P = 0.006), had higher 4-week (16% vs 2%; P = 0.015) and 8-week mortality (19% vs 6%; P = 0.038). Cytoreduction consisted of hydroxyurea in 124 pts (96%), cytarabine in 69 pts (54%) and leukapheresis in 31 pts (24%). Pts who underwent leukapheresis were less likely to receive cytarabine compared with pts who did not (35% vs 59%; P = 0.02); and tended to have more CL compared with pts who did not (74% vs 56%; P = 0.09). 30 pts had tumor lysis syndrome (TLS). TLS risk did not increase with WBC and was not associated with the cytoreductive modality used. 11 pts had intracranial hemorrhage (ICH): 9 pts (82%) with WBC ≥150 and 18% with WBC &lt;150 (P = 0.048). No association was observed between the incidence of ICH and the cytoreductive therapy. 4-week and 8-week mortality rates were 10% and 14%, respectively. After a median follow-up of 49.4 months [mos] (95% CI 26.2-72.6), median OS was 14.3 mos (95% CI 7-21.6), with 2-year OS of 40%. Median OS was 12.3 mos (95% CI 7.4-17.2) compared with 29 mos (95% CI 2.1-55.6) in pts with or without CL, respectively (P = 0.007). Median OS was 9.9 mos (95% CI 7.5-12.2) and 21.3 mos (95% CI 10.7-31.8) among those who did or did not undergo leukapheresis, respectively (P=0.003). Median OS was 42 mos (95% CI 14.2-69.8) compared with 8 ms (95% CI 6-10) in pts &lt; or ≥ 65 years. Conclusions: Older age, poor cytogenetics, TLS and DIC were associated with early mortality and inferior OS in pts with hyperleukocytosis. Careful monitoring of those pts with prompt cytoreduction and management of complications may help improve outcomes. [Table: see text]